The cars and stars of NASCAR race their way back to New England for the SYLVANIA 300 and the second race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on Sunday, September 25. As part of NASCAR’s 10-race playoffs, this 300-lap event is sure to be pivotal in deciding the series champion.

Join to celebrate the power of recovery. Groups and individuals concerned with the continuing incidents of alcohol and drug abuse in the community are being encouraged to take part in the walk which is being organized and hosted by Catholic Charities Maine’s Counseling Services in partnership with Milestone Foundation, Crossroads for Women, Day One, Milestone, and Serenity House in celebration of National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month.

DRAWN FROM THE RIVER: Drawings by Artists of the Saco River ValleyFREE public opening preview: Wednesday, September 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m.Two concurrent exhibitions at the Saco Museum this fall will celebrate the art of drawing, presented in conjunction with The Maine Drawing Project (http://chitna.asap.um.maine.edu/mainedrawing/). Drawn from the River: Drawings by Artists of the Saco River Valley will use drawings from the Saco Museum's permanent collection to explore how drawing was part of the artistic process for 19th-century local artists like Gibeon Elden Bradbury and Charles Henry Granger.

The Saco Museum is now accepting applications for the 2012 Mill-ennial, a juried biennial exhibition of contemporary art connected to the Cities on the Saco. All artists who can demonstrate a significant connection to Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach are invited to submit images of their work, in any medium, for consideration by the jurors. The postmark/drop-off deadline for submissions is October 31, 2011. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Saco Museum and Engine, a new community arts organization in Biddeford. Artwork juried into the exhibition will be shown at the Saco Museum or at Engine's new exhibition space (to be announced Fall 2011), with film or performance pieces presented at City Theater in Biddeford. The exhibition will be on view April 6 through June 10, 2012.

The Mill-ennial was conceived by the Saco Museum as an ongoing series of exhibitions showcasing new work by living artists connected to Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach.

Make the Saco Museum's newest exhibition part of your Artwalk evening! At 6 p.m., artist Christy Bergland will speak with visitors about her series of 16 drawings capturing the change of seasons outside her studio window in Biddeford Pool. This FREE event coincides with Portland's First Friday Artwalk on Friday, October 7 (www.firstfridayartwalk.com) and is offered in collaboration with The Maine Drawing Project (http://chitna.asap.um.maine.edu/mainedrawing/). Christy Bergland: Late Seasons of Great Pond is on view at the Saco Museum September 17 through November 13, 2011.

Now available, the perfect way to honor friends, relatives (or yourself!) while supporting the Dyer Library and Saco Museum: invest in an engraved brick, as durable as the library and museum themselves. Your brick will be placed in the brick sidewalk in front of the museum as a permanent testament to your support and dedication to the DLSM.

A special exhibition presented simultaneously at the Dyer Library and Saco museum this fall will be presented in conjunction with the bicentennial celebrations of Thornton Academy. Exploring tradition, mission and history, 200 Years of the Academy celebrates Thornton Academy's place in local history and the nation during the school's Bicentennial year. The exhibition will open with a special preview reception (in conjunction with the opening for concurrent Saco Museum exhibitions Drawn from the River and Christy Bergland: Late Seasons of Great Pond) on Wednesday, September 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The reception, held at the Saco Museum, is FREE and open to the public; members of Thornton Academy's community are especially welcomed.